A Maltese man has applied to join a mission to establish a human settlement on Mars.

I would probably be an old man by the time they develop the technology

Clive Gerada, a 28-year-old art and language teacher, wrote on mars-one.com: “I consider myself as an outgoing person, who is always looking for something interesting and challenging.”

The project, called Mars One, aims to establish a human settlement on Mars through the integration of existing, readily available technologies from industry leaders world-wide.

The NGO which is heading the project says it intends to fund this decade-long endeavor by involving the whole world as the audience of an interactive, televised broadcast of every aspect of this mission, from the astronaut selections and their preparations to the arrival on Mars and their lives on the Red Planet.

Speaking to The Times, Mr Gerada said that he got to know about the project while watching CNN.

“I decided to apply for a laugh among friends. I didn’t realise that I was actually chosen. Next thing I knew, my face was splashed across timesofmalta.com. “I would probably be an old man by the time they develop the technology – then again you never know.

“Joking apart, as an art teacher, my message is that everyone is able to access another world by closing their eyes. Then once they return to reality, all they need to do is capture it on canvas.”

The Mars One Project is connected to the non-profit Mars One foundation, and the for-profit company Interplanetary Media Group.

To pay for the Mars mission, the Mars One foundation says it receives revenues from the license fee from the Interplanetary Media Group, sponsors, donations and the sales of merchandise.